Associated PressAuburn coach Jeff Lebo and the Tigers face Georgia today in a crucial SEC contest.AUBURN -- As if Auburn needed any further grief in a disappointing basketball season, the Tigers have endured an SEC schedule that has seemed particularly cruel.

Auburn has had the misfortune of playing good opponents at bad times and bad opponents right when they're starting to turn things around.

The Tigers opened the season with four of five games against the clearly dominant SEC East. But the supposed break against the weaker SEC West has been anything but. A trip to Arkansas Saturday caught the Razorbacks in the midst of a four-game winning streak that has taken them to the top of the division.

Tonight at 8, Auburn (11-12, 2-6 SEC) moves back to the East in a game against previously reeling Georgia (10-11, 2-6), which is coming off a stunning upset of 18th-ranked Vanderbilt. The game at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum will be televised by CSS.

"It's basketball," said AU coach Jeff Lebo. "That's just what you have."

All but two of the Tigers' eight league games have been decided in the final five minutes and Auburn is 2-4 in those down-to-the-wire finishes, beating Alabama and LSU and losing to South Carolina, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Arkansas in overtime.

"It's very draining physically and emotionally because we fight all the way to the end and come up short," said senior guard Tay Waller. "The only positive thing is that we're still fighting ... We need to take out some minor mistakes toward the end of the game. That's the difference between us being 5-3 and 2-6."

Lebo said he wants his players to remain resilient.

"You can't get too high or too low," he said. "You have to put it behind us. You don't worry about what's in the past, whether it's good or bad, wins or losses. You just focus on what's lying ahead of you, and that's what we're continuing to do."

Georgia has had an inconsistent season under first-year coach Mark Fox. The Bulldogs had lost three in a row and six of their last seven before beating Vandy.

"His teams execute very well in half-court situations," Lebo said. "That's probably the best thing they do. They understand their roles. They do some good stuff offensively to get their best players the ball in around the bucket area."